Every Wrestling Rookie Of The Year: Where Are They Now?
26. 1997 - Mr. Águila
A magazine sensation in 1997, Aguila was one of the few cruiserweights who wasn't on the radar of WCW - or, if he was, the WWF took the highly unusual step of signing a 19 year-old to bolster their new "if we have to..." light heavyweight scene.
He was exciting, but very raw. He was a bad fit: the WWF's in-house regulations capped what he could do, and he himself needed to be patrolled to a halfway good match. Eddie Guerrero couldn't work his magic with him at Backlash 2000, for example; that midcard effort was only just above average.
He returned to Mexico in 2001, and he stayed there outside of a brief TNA run. He experimented with a striking body paint look - good! - but he never did tap into the potential he held in '97. His work was and is...not exactly rave-reviewed in hardcore lucha fan circles.